Small Business Saturday helps local businesses to thrive

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Small businesses across the country celebrated Small Business Saturday this weekend, including local shops and shoppers right here in Kansas City.

American Express has thrown millions of marketing dollars behind Small Business Saturday, and local business owners say it is their best shopping day of the year. Small Business Saturday has been said to start a ripple effect that spreads throughout the whole community.

"We provide jobs to people in the neighborhood. The charitable donations we make go to local schools and churches and people working in this area. It’s important to keep that all here in your own community I think," said Jim Ward of Brookside Toy and Science.

Brookside is home to several local businesses in Kansas City, Mo. Some of the stores, like Stuff, and a store called the Leopold Gallery, both sell one-of-a-kind items which local artists from Kansas City have created.

“That’s our deal, we support the local guys. We work a lot with the Art Institute, and it’s all about giving back to the community, and giving back to the art community that is in this city,” said Paula Busser of the Leopold Gallery.

Those in support of small businesses urge local community members to shop small and give back to their communities in a big way.